On that journey, I have met with great players all over the world, having a yoyo team, which was one of my dreams as a little kid after watching the TV series Blazing Teens in elementary school and learned so much more about yoyo behind the scenes. One of the most fascinating things is learning about yoyo design languages and trends, watching as yoyo designs evolve over the years to help yoyo players land their ever evolving tricks on stage. I could have my signature yoyo way earlier as the leader of yoyofriends but as I am no longer competing, I want to give the signature spotlight to the competing players on our team like Tony, Drake and Tomoki. I have also been chasing that ultimate design and shape over the years accumulated from past yoyofriends throw so if I were to decide to have a signature yoyo, I will be completely satisfied with the shape.
The story begins in 2018, when I just got sponsored by yoyofriends, we were a small-ish company back then, with only just Hummingbird and Magpie as our releases. Hummingbird as you guys know, is a legendary yoyo that built the foundation of our company. In my mind I think I have a huge task in front of me to try to match it even though I had no idea about anything yoyo design at all. My friend who lives close to me in Dallas is also a yoyo designer, we were just hanging out and brainstorming about yoyo ideas on our way to his house. During that car ride, I thought of 2 ideas, one of them was a straight V shape yoyo that is 46mm wide, using the signature hummingbird's wrapped around rings. I didn't want the yoyo cup to be just flat so I was thinking about a cut around the outside of the inner cup. This yoyo came out to be the yoyofriends peregrine.
The second idea I had was an inner ring yoyo. I thought if the hummingbird can have a wrapped around ring with stainless steel going both horizontal and vertical directions, why not implement a wrapped around ring on an inner ring yoyo, with stainless steel also going both horizontal and vertical directions. I called it L shaped rings.
Due to manufacturing not being super matured back in the days, this idea has been sitting on the shelf over the years, which is perfect for me to learn more and more about yoyos to chase that ultimate design shape I wanted if I were to have a signature yoyo. Throughout that time 2 yoyos stood out to me that inspired the overclocked. Vulture and Tachyon. Vulture with an all out H shape taught me about increase in power and stability, Tachyon further enhanced on top of that with a combination of V shape for speed and H shape for power and stability.With a basic understanding of the shape I wanted, I looked into the spec. Yoyo is ever evolving, players are focusing more on harder and high space use zoning tricks, one great example is our player Tony Sung. The yoyo design has to evolve to keep up the demand for the players, so the width and catch zone of the yoyo are getting wider and wider. Here is an example of our Peregrine going wider as we try out more prototypes.
With all these accumulation of yoyo ideas. I re-initiated the 2nd idea from that car ride back in 2018 in 2023. The material I want to use is the classic yoyofriends 7068 + SS. The result was special, the shape and profile came out perfect, a refined V and H shape hybrid with striking wrapped around inner stainless steel ring. I loved the shape so much when I got the prototype, I finally decided to use this yoyo as my first signature yoyo. However with the prototype one done, we are not quite done yet, it is time to nitpick and fine tune to perfect this yoyo.
The first thing I notice is despite the yoyo being at a whopping 66g plus with its gigantic L shaped SS rings, it doesn't play super heavy. When the speed is picked up the yoyo still has the speed worthy of the yoyofriends high end bimetal tradition. I ultimately want the yoyo just a bit lighter to help its acceleration so I decided on 65.8g. The response bump on prototype one was also slightly snaggy and uncomfortable, noticed by both me and our newest yoyofriends team member Yahoo. On prototype 2 we slightly enlarged and rounded off the response bump. The prototype 2 result was even more amazing. The yoyo is praised by the yoyofriends team, especially from Yahoo, Tony, and Kay.
The prototype 2 feels even better, even some of the yoyofriends players use it for competition, however due to the increased slack and zoning in modern competition tricks, strings have been getting thicker and thicker. After I personally consulted with Kay, I decided to increase the gap width to 4.52 for production, matching Tony's graviton:y.
I named the yoyo overclock because overclocking computer hardware has been my hobby ever since 2014. I remember overclocking my first PC, an intel i5-4690k, Nvidia GTX 970 and DDR3 ram. Ever since then, I have multiple top 10 scores and a couple number ones on 3Dmark timespy and speedway, spanning 8th to 13th gen intel cpu, samsung b die ddr4 to hynix a die ddr5 and Nvidia 10 to 30 series gpu. It is my passion to push computer hardwares to the limit just like how I assist to push yoyofriends yoyo designs to the limit. The logo is inspired by a program I use, MSI Afterburner, special thanks Tony Sung and the yoyofriends team for making the yoyo logo possible.
The Overclock will drop on Sat, March 29 th 2024 8 PM EST worldwide!
The Specs:
Weight: 65.8grams
Material: 7068+SS
Diameter: 55.47mm
Width: 47mm
Gap width: 4.52mm
Axle: M4*10mm
Bearing: Concave Bearing
Pads: 19.2*14.2*1.2mm
Price: 100~105USD/set
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Overclock sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
1x FPMXyoyofriends sticker
]]>
About this yoyo, Tony has been posting various trick circle posts with his Graviton on his personal Instagram; flowy techs, impossible bangers, Godspeed horizontal combos, literally whatever tricks.
After the release, we get some feedback from Tony. He told us that his friends and fans asking for low budget version of Gravitons.
Then Tony went to the States, Korea, and Japan last year
He try to let everyone try his signature yoyo and they loved it.Nevertheless, they said that the high price makes them hesitate to buy this yoyo, and especially for 5a players, 180 bucks is too much.
So Tony talked to us about the Mono Graviton, and we agree with him: make the Graviton series more
The following content is from Tony’s writing:
I usually spend my spare time on Fusion 360, designing some random ideas that popped up on top of my head. I have also designed variations of Graviton, including the mono-metal Graviton, even way before FPM and I talked about making the mono-metal Graviton. So I tweaked my mono-metal design a little more before we made the first prototype.
This time as well, I calculated their Moment Of Inertia, or the amount of power the yoyo can handle. I used all 3 prototypes of Graviton as the reference.
During the summer break, I let many people try all prototypes and production versions of Graviton, I noticed some of them liked the very first prototype (orange yoyo) so much that it got much more power than the other versions. So I decided to make the mono Graviton to have more power than the original one.
The first prototype played perfectly. It has exactly the same specs as the original Graviton so it feels very comfortable on my hand. It’s only 0.2 grams heavier than the original graviton, and it got even more power as I re-designed the profile to stretch out towards the rim.
Another 5a player on our team, Haneul tried the first proto as well and he said it’s the best mono metal for 5a that ever exists.
However, Haneul, Philip, and I all agreed that this doesn’t look like the Graviton, or play like the original Graviton. We had to be concerned about people’s confusion about how different it is from the original Graviton.
So I began to work on the second prototype with the following changes: making the overall profile look more like the original Graviton, since this reduces the moment of inertia on the rim area, or the power that the rim can handle, I decided to increase the overall weight up to 65.2 grams. Finally, I reduced some complex designs in the cup and smoothened out the profile for a cooler and simpler look.
And this version of mono Graviton is just amazing. It has the unique profile of the original Graviton. It has the smooth feeling that the original Graviton has, and it’s extra flowy. I especially like the way it plays when I do horizontals, It’s like yoyo flies as I command.
What would be the greatest name for this yoyo?
I wanted my yoyo to have a catchier name, not just “the Mono Graviton”. I initially thought of naming it “Counter Graviton”, which indicates this is a suitable yoyo for the counterweight style, and the counter side, another form of the Graviton series. But later, I decided to get rid of “Counter” from its name because this yoyo is not just for the 5a yoyoing.
At the Toronto yoyo meetings, my friends used to call me “Gravi Tony”, whenever I was playing around with my Graviton. This was just a fun joke, but later I got the idea of calling it “Graviton: Y” from this pun. Y is the second variable from X, Y, and Z from math equations, therefore putting Y in its name also implies it is the second model of Graviton series.
During the dinner, I told my friends from the YoyoToronto club that I would like to name my mono-metal signature, the “Graviton: Y”, and they found it was a brilliant idea as well, which made me feel even more satisfied.
And, here we got the Graviton: Y!
Graviton: Y has arrived at a more affordable price, yet got the significant smoothness and acceleration of Graviton. I wish everyone to get Graviton: Y to make their best memory. It is in your hand, the moment is yours!
The Graviton:Y will drop Tuesday, Feb 27th, 2024 8 PM EST worldwide!
Specs
Material:7068 AL
Diameter:55.33mm
Width:47mm
Gap:4.52mm
Weight :65.15g
Bearing:Common quality concave bearing
Price:45~50USD/set
The packing contains
1 x Graviton:Y
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Graviton:Y sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
1x yoyofriends X FPM sticker
]]>To tackle this project we got inspired by the shortcut, a hybrid H/W shaped monometal that is very popular among the yoyo community.
The shortcut is famous for its 6 even cuts along the profile of the yoyo, definitely giving it a striking look.
When we are translating the shortcut into titanium, our player Tony Sung suggested we can try keeping these cuts on the titanium model as well. However after many discussions, we think we want to change the profile alittle to give the yoyo a different feel and possibly enhance its playing properties by incorporating more H shape into the yoyo.
We are familiar with H shape, 2 classic H shape examples in yoyofriends lineup are the Vulture and the Tachyon, both bring massive stability and controllability to the table.
Here we got inspired by the vulture and simplified the cut from 3 on the inside profile to 2, similar to the vulture while still keeping the massive shortcut like rim, making it a hybrid of H and W shape. This even further enhances the yoyo's stability due to its slightly shifted weight distribution.
After multiple prototypes we found that the 2 cut and slightly more H shape on the inner profile indeed enhances stability and we picked that as our production model. We did not drastically lower the weight of the yoyo from 6061 to titanium knowing the new design already has more stability, we want to double down on power, stability and control in all aspects.
The yoyo was released as the mystery Ti yoyo in the black friday mystery box with great feedback, praising its power, stability and controllability.
As for the naming, the team had a very hard time as it was already hard to name the papercut, we have to find another name that is suited while having some sort of connection to the shortcut. Crosscut came into mind finally and we all liked the name.
We hope you enjoy the crosscut, our heavy hitter titanium model.
The Crosscut will drop Sat, Feb 17th, 2024 8 PM EST worldwide!
Specs
Material:TA2
Diameter:55.33mm
Width:45mm
Gap:4.46mm
Weight :65.75g
Bearing:Better quality concave bearing
Price:258.99USD/set
The packing contains
1 x Crosscut
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Crosscut sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
1x yoyofriends X FPM sticker
]]>We have now entered into the year 2024, time truly goes by fast as yoyofriends is celebrating its 8th anniversary ever since start. We really want to thank you for all the support for this incredible journey and make this possibly. Every year we traditionally will have an anniversary model to celebrate and kickstart our year.
This year we want to do another bimetal, we want to create a somewhat budget bimetal offering that highlights the extreme manufacturing capability of yoyofriends and our parent company, FPM. To have an extreme rim design and keep the cost somewhat low, we decided to go with a 6061 bimetal instead of 7068. To start this design, we looked into our most successful budget yoyo, the shortcut. Shortcut is a 6061 monometal design that is very capable despite its price, utilizing hybrid V and H shape and cuts to bring out the outstanding power and look into a budget yoyo.
For the 8th anniversary version, we would like to use an H-shaped structure and use cutting lines like our shortcut. We decided to take another approach on the outer rim design, traditionally we have the SS rim pushed down inward into the yoyo, however this time we decided to make the rim pushed outward, almost like gluing it on. We also went super risky with the low contact surface area between the 6061 and the SS rim. This allows the rim width and the weight maximized. giving the yoyo more bimetal power and a striking look. This is a tall order as we realize the rim shifts more easily when the yoyo is hit on the ground. To counteract this we added a concave spot along the outer part of the contact surface between the two materials, this when the rings are put on the yoyo, it is less prone to shift after being hit on the ground.
After the first prototype, the player team thinks the rim weight is simply too much, giving the yoyo too much momentum despite its already light weight, so for the final prototype we shifted a tiny amount of rim weight from the rim towards the 6061 part of the yoyo, making the yoyo still very extreme, lightweight and have a decent flow.
We released this model in our Black Friday Mystery Box II with many positive customer feedbacks.
We tried to name the yoyo something connected to shortcut, Because in a way, it is related to the shortcut, instead of finding a word that related to shortcut based on meaning, we opted for the name papercut. Inspired by the song Papercut, by Linkin Park which is one our favorite song for a couple of our yoyofriends players. It also contains the word cut, which identifies the yoyo as it contains multiple cuts on the yoyo to give it a signature look.
Thank you for the 8 years of support and hopefully many, many more years to come.
The Papercut will drop Monday, Jan 15th, 2024 8 PM EST
Specs:
Material: 6061+SS RINGS
Weight: 63.4g
Diameter: 55.5mm
Width: 45mm
Gap: 4.5mm
Axle: M4*8mm
Bearing: CT
Price: 83.99USD~88.99USD/ set
The packing contains:
1 x Papercut
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Papercut sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
Shine by yoyofriends and Drake Bogataj
Specs:
Material:7068 aluminum alloy
Diameter:56mm
Width:46.1mm
Gap:4.45mm
Axle:M4*8mm
Weight:64.6g
Yiyang messaged me sometime in early 2021 about a signature yoyo and I had a strong idea of what I wanted. The Sync was my go-to ever since it was released so I started with that as a baseline. I started a group chat with Yiyang and the designer. and we had a lot of fun with the process of creating my signature yoyo (too much fun? nah).
A concise and elegant appearance was important to me and I tried to remove visual lines and cuts to replace them with curves. I also molded the profile to be comfortable to catch.
I was very particular about the response area because I like to incorporate flashy binds into my tricks, and the idea I settled on was taken from the Float by Andrew Bergen and Smashing Yoyos. The area coming from the gap is rounded out with a small wall, allowing the string to catch the response well without being snaggy or having loose binds.
Because we fine tuned the design before prototyping, the first yoyo was just about perfect. The light blue yoyo I have been posting and competing with since September 2021 is that first proto. The gap width was the only thing that changed between proto 1, proto 2, and production Shine. Shoutouts the designer Jacky, yoyofriends, and FPM for letting me create exactly what I imagined.
I was stuck on what to name it for ages but recently I decided on Shine. In competitive smash bros, Fox shine is a move that does everything you want it to. It combos, reversals, edgeguards, whatever, and I feel like this yoyo does everything in the same way. You won’t find fault with this yoyo. I’ve gotten great feedback from those who’ve tried it and releasing it feels like posting one of my best tricks. I’m super proud of where I’ve come overall in yoyo and I’m thankful to yoyofriends and everyone else along the way. Thanks for reading about Shine!
Drake Bogataj
The packing contains:
1 x Shine
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Shine sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
In recent years, yoyofriends are trying new designs that are out of the ordinary. Our bread and butter has always been bimetals using a combination of a less dense material in the middle and a denser material on the rims. One classic example is Tachyon, the fastest yoyo currently in our lineup. We used a massive amount of stainless steel rim weight to make the yoyo stable, powerful, even at only around 60g. Pheasant Bi-metal and Da Vinci are also examples of large and wide SS rings that enhance the power and stability of the yoyo even at a lighter weight. This gives us an idea, what if we take this to the extreme? What if we make a yoyo that is the hyperbole of the body to rim weight ratio? Usually a yoyo weights from 60g to 70g, what if we push it all the way down to around 50g? We think this will be a very interesting project for us to tackle, something out of the ordinary for yoyofriends.
Here comes Tankette, the caricature of the body to rim weight ratio. The SS rim takes over a whooping 75% of the total body weight. The shape is a classic V shape as the insane size and weight of the SS rings took care of the power and stability even at a low overall weight of low 50g. The V shape also helps enhance the speed of the yoyo to compensate for the large amount of ring weight. This prototype was tested by the yoyofriends player team and also at world's 2023 in Osaka Japan in August. This project passes by with flying colors as it plays well as is, unique to play with and striking to look at. Tankette plays super light but with surprisingly decent power and stability, perfect for a fun little pocket throw to carry around and have fun without sacrificing too much performance.
We named the yoyo Tankette because the wide and large SS rings remind us of the wide and large tire tracks of a Tank. However this yoyo is very light and nimble so naming it Tank is obviously not a good idea. Tankette is armored small combat vehicle that resembles a small tank, which perfectly suits the size and look wise.
We hope you enjoy the tankette, an outside the box idea from us.
Material: 7068+SS
Diameter: 51.97mm
Width: 43.00mm
Gap width: 4.48mm
Weight: 51.3g
Bearing: Center Track
Price: 99.99-104.99 USD/ set
The packing contains:
1 x Tankette
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Tankette sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
Firstly the construction of the yoyo we first immediately thought of 7068+SS. Our signature construction in both performance and manufacturing. Then from the experience of our compact to undersized yoyo, the power and stability will drastically decrease and the only way to effectively counteract that is rim weight. We then used that philosophy and thought of, what if we use a material even denser than stainless steel for the rim? We have two choices here, brass and copper. Copper is the most dense material in our arsenal and one of our most ambitious manufacturing feats, but the cost is too high. We settled with brass for cost and still more dense than stainless steel.
The first prototype was based on the Hummingbird, one of the most iconic yoyo in our lineup. We liked it for its performance and appearance. We tweaked the design for undersize. The result was great, the yoyo performed very well, hitting all performance expectations and exceeded it in power and stability. However we struggled to have a high A-grade yield.
The second prototype was based on the TiNY, with a simplistic design and a revised hub suggested by our players. The performance is amazing, with plenty of power and stability. However we feel like it lacks the nimbleness and the unique feel of the hummingbird in this bimetal form.
We then decided to slightly tweak the prototype one's design and successfully manufactured the mini hummingbird with high A-grade yield.
We hope you enjoy the mini hummingbird, our ultimate performance offering in an undersized form.
The mini hummingbird will drop on Monday, Oct 30th, 2023 8PM EST at the yoyofriends store (Olive color series only, Olive hummingbird with brass rings/copper rings, Olive mini hummingbird with brass rings)
Material: 7068 w brass rings
Diameter: 47.41mm
Width: 37.22 mm
Gap width: 4.46mm
Weight: 59.75g
Bearing: Center Track
Price:100USD/ set
The packing contains:
1 x mini hummingbird
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Mini hummingbird sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
In 2021, we collaborated with RSO to create a TiSS with side effect yoyo, called the Droid. Droid was somewhat a breakthrough in creativity and manufacturing. We want to specially thank Elvin, we were honored to collaborate with him and learned a lot.
The MgSS started with inspiration from the Droid, we thought of implementing a side effect system on the MgSS to make it interesting.
For the overall design of yoyo. We went with a classic V shape wrapped around rings. Signature design philosophy for fast acceleration and top speed.
Combined with Mg's lightweight body, we can maximize SS rim weight and volume for performance. We calculated the SS rim weight will be around a whooping 73% of the total weight, we are really doing something insane here.
For the Side Effect, we have many choices from our past experience
energy domes (as seen on the Droid)
flatcaps (as seen on the Alliance)
ultralight-se (to max more rim weight)
In the end, we picked the spike, we think it suits the Mgss Design more, aggressive V shape matches with the angular
Trying something new isn't always successful, sometimes you face unknown challenges. During machining and assembly, the side effects give us a lot of trouble. The yoyo vibes and is not up to our quality standards. However at this point we have already finished manufacturing the body, rim and brought side effects. If we stop here, it will be a massive loss.
As you might have seen on how we conquered Mg yoyo with Cloudstrike, we will not simply just give up. After thinking, we have decided to ditch the side effects altogether and make another prototype.
This time, we have the prototypes heavily tested by our player team leader, Philip, who has a hand in developing multiple yoyofriends yoyos and our player Ryota, world famous yoyoer who finaled in AP yoyo championships.
From their discussion and feedback, we found out that the yoyo is stable and powerful, but it feels too sluggish and hard to accelerate, this is not a predominant characteristic in our history of fast playing bimetals. We feel the design lacks something, so we put a pause on this project once again and went back to square one on the design.
During this time, we are in the process of testing out different revisions of peregrine. The entire yoyofriends player team took part in design ideas on improving the peregrine. We thought, why not base the MgSS design on the peregrine and implement all the ideas from the team into the yoyo?
We designed the MgSS yoyo based on Peregrine Rev.1 with multiple upgrades from the ideas of our players. We also implemented an aluminum ring insert at the response area to create a response bump that is not only great for rejection and snag prevention but also minimize the string wear around the response area.
The prototype 3 is tested heavily once again by team leader Philip, Ryota and Tony (designer of one of our best performing yoyos yet, Graviton). They all loved it and were blown away by the performance. We also brought the prototype to the 2023 WYYC in Osaka Japan and met with great impressions.
The gyrfalcon is nimble, fast playing and very easy to control, just like the peregrine Rev.1. It has more power and stability from the original peregrine and even the Peregrine Rev.1 with newly tweaked weight distribution and light Mg body, combined with new center cup design and aluminum response inserts. It is a holy trinity of performance, appearance and uniqueness.
We also mastered a new Mg colorway, black.
((PS:Pls note that the surface of black gyrfalcon have small flaw.))
Finally, the original version of the MgSS with SE is still here, because of the vibration problem, we canceled the plan to sell them, however we will not let them go to waste so every gyrfalcon will come with a MgSS with SE as a gift.
(PS:For the MgSS with side effect addon yoyo, we will prioritize the quality of the surface first. We do not gurantee the quality, vibe nor performance. )
We named the yoyo gyrfalcon because we can slightly feel it is the sequel to Peregrine and it has more power and stability Gyrfalcon is a very similar species compared to the peregrine falcon with a larger, wider wing with a distinctive colors of white and black.
This MgSS project started in March of 2022 and it's been a year and a half. We hope you enjoy our ultimate combination of performance, material use and manufacturing!
The Gyrfalcon will drop Sunday, Oct 8th, 2023 8 PM EST
Material: Magnesium w stainless w AL
Diameter: 56.15mm
Width: 46.97.00mm
Gap width: 4.48mm
Weight: 64.4g
Bearing: NSK bearing
Price:419.99USD/ set
The packing contains:
1 x Gyrfalcon
1 x 1st prototype with Side effect
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Gyrfalcon sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
1 x Certificate1X Genuine leather bag
]]>
Throughout the seven plus years of yoyofriends, we have always had an idea of an injection mold, polycarbonate yoyo in our mind. This is a monumental task for us as an injection mold has a massive upfront cost. If the design is not up to standard then the entire injection mold could be void, costing us 5000 USD or more in loss. We also have a pedigree of high performing yoyos no matter the shape, material, and cost in our entire lineup, and we still want to keep that tradition alive even if it is an injection mold yoyo. Thanks to all of your support throughout these seven plus years, we are finally big enough to take on this challenge.
Yoyofriends has its own manufacturer, FPM. We have over ten years of experience with all different kinds of metals. We also have mastery over designing and producing metal yoyos with utmost quality control but we don't have any in designing an injection mold polycarbonate.
To kickstart this project, we looked back on one of our previous designs, Dove. Dove is a machined delrin yoyo with flowy feel and high performance, it is one of our success stories entering the plastic market and a design we want to base this project on. We tweaked a lot the design of the dove to translate it from machine delrin to injection mold polycarbonate. Then we incorporated some of the feedback from the players, customers and retailers to further improve the design. Improvement such as adding a response bump to further decrease friction of the string when doing combos with multiple string stack, rejection, injection and horizontal play. Having a wider width and overall catch zone for high risk zoning tricks and beginner friendliness.
After the design has been approved by our teams, we made the injection mold and the first prototype is here. Although the performance is fantastic, the yoyo struggles to lock into the DNA position easily due to the angle of the incline going into the center of the cup is not enough. After a thoughtful discussion with the teams we have increased the incline on the mold, another massive amount of upfront cost.
The prototype two is here. This one came out exactly what we wanted. AoE is a low budget, high performing yoyo with incredible power and stability, perfect for learning new combos and having fun. For colorways we are inspired by the colorways of the World Yoyo Contest this year at Osaka, Japan.
There will be two versions of the AoE, one has slim bearing and short axle pre-installed for responsive play, one has normal U shaped bearing and long axle pre-installed for unresponsive play.
We named the yoyo AoE (Area of Effect) as we wish this high performing, budget yoyo will have an area of effect on the yoyo community in a good way. Whether you are a beginner starting your yoyo journey, or a pro trying to have some fun, AoE is the ultimate budget offering no matter the skill level.
AoE will be available first at the yoyofriends booth at the World Yoyo Contest 2023 in Osaka, Japan, we hope everyone will visit us there.
Here are the details of AoE:
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 x string
1 x Boxes
Both responsive and unresponsive AoE includes short/long axle and slim/normal bearings.
Pre-Release Price of WYYC period
Clear: $15.5
Clear Blue: $15.5
Clear Blue Pink Fade: $17.5
Official Release Price
Clear: $17.99
Clear Blue: $17.99
Clear Blue Pink Fade: $19.99
A lot of thought has gone through Malte's mind on what he wants in a yoyo. First he wants the yoyo to be contest ready. This aligns perfectly with our philosophy of making yoyos with high performance. Second, he wants the yoyo to be good at the trick DNA, Malte has been in the tiktok game for the past years to promote yoyoing in the EU. One of the most viewed and engaged tricks is the DNA. Third, he wants the yoyo to be affordable, he wants to reach the upcoming and younger yoyoers with a friendly budget. He remembers how hard it is for him to get a good, solid competition set of three yoyos within a budget in his early yoyoing career, so he wishes to make that set happen to anyone at the price of around 100 Euros or US dollars.
To tackle this project first we looked at characteristics of Malte's favorite yoyos, and we found out he likes yoyos that are predominantly W shaped with large rims. One of his favorite yoyos is also the Vulture. which has elements of H shape in it as well. From this information we decided to have a form of a hybrid shape that has both elements of H and W with large rims for power and performance. For the material, we picked 6061 aluminum to make this yoyo affordable and accessible to the younger generation of yoyoers. To tackle the DNA, we decided to implement a fingerspin hub. This is quite challenging as this pushes the weight of the yoyo away from the center hub and affects the acceleration and maneuverability of a yoyo, we counteracted with a slightly more pronounced H shape and massive rim weight to overpower the feeling with rim weight. The prototype one has arrived.
After testing the prototype one from Malte , multiple yoyofriends players and reviewers, we found out the hybrid W and H shape is excellent, giving the yoyo plenty of momentum and power. However the fingerspin cup is not very easy to lock in and even when locked in, the yoyo vibrates for most of the players here. The rim of the yoyo is a little bit sharp and Malte also wants to make the catch zone slightly wider for even more ease of use in competition. For proto 2 we made the fingerspin cup even deeper, to the limit of 6061 aluminum tolerance, rounded out the rims and widened the catch zone.
The prototype 2 came out with even better performance and ease of use, it can power through high stress and long combos with ease. It also feels a lot nicer to catch on the hand due to the rounded out rims. We also found out a new problem with the response area after hours of rigorous testing by our players, the string will catch on the outer part of the response area of the yoyo with a less accurate string hit. The fingerspin sadly is still not up to our expectations, so we thought of alot of options, like making the axle even shorter, having a hole in the middle of the cup, shifting the rim weight into the wall to force a deeper cup etc. After discussion with Malte and the team, we ditched all these ideas because it affects the performance of the yoyo, ease of use for our customers and the durability of the yoyo itself. We finally decided to push the fingerspin even slightly deeper and completely redesign the fingerspin cup, absolutely pushing the limit of the 6061 aluminum and our manufacturing ability.
The prototype 3 is here! This time Malte is content with the fingerspin capability, we finally struck a balance between the two opposite sides of the equation. The response is also now fixed. We proceeded to test this yoyo for a long time to fine tune the weight for production. After discussion we decided to lower the weight by 0.2g for slightly better maneuverability especially when doing horizontal tricks on the production run.
Malte decided to name the yoyo paragraph because the paragraph symbol (also the section sign in English) in his language (German) looks like the trick DNA. This symbol is often used when referring to a specific section of a legal code, or reference a specific paragraph within a section of a document. The name connects to Malte's life outside of yoyoing as he is an auditor.
We hope you enjoy the paragraph, an affordable yoyo that balances performance and DNA capability.
Here are the details of Paragraph:
Material: 6061AL
Dia: 55.34mm
Wid: 45mm
Gap: 4.44mm
Weight: 65.6g
Axle: M4*8mm
Bearing: Center Track
Price: $29.99-$33.99
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Paragraph sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
1 x Boxes
I think many yoyo players want to make their own signature yoyo. I was one of them. This time, my dream came true.
I would like to introduce my first signature model, Da Vinci.
1. Basic specs
Da Vinci is a bi-metal with a 7068 body and stainless steel rims. The specifications are as follows
Diameter: 56 mm
Width: 44.5 mm
Gap width: 4.56 mm
Weight: 62.6 g
Axle: M4 x 10 mm
The yo-yo is a full-size lightweight bimetal with a wide stainless steel rim + H-profile inverse shape.
2. Signature Model Production Background
It was around the end of EJ in April 2022 when I was asked by the manufacturer, "Why don't you make a signature model? At the time, I had received the Pheasant prototype, which I had been involved in the development of, and I was happy with it. I have very small hands and short fingers, so the larger diameter and wider width often hit my hands during freestyle practice or when doing small or chop stick type moves during technique development.
*The photo is from JYYF
So, I wanted a yo-yo with a slightly smaller width and diameter, and that's how the development of the signature model started.
3. What kind of yo-yo did I want to make?
When we decided to develop signature model, the manufacturer asked me, "What kind of yo-yo do you want to make? I told them that in addition to the aforementioned width and diameter adjustments, I wanted a bimetal yoyo with an inverse shape that would spin for a long time and be easy to move, but would also be stable without being violent. Now that I think about it, I was being extremely reckless.
So, I listed the specs and feelings of my previous main models. In the process of enumerating, I found that I had often used yo-yos that were not that wide in relation to their diameter by modern standards. After testing various yo-yos, including my own yo-yo that was not too wide and a friend's yo-yo that was not too wide, I confirmed that my tricks did not require a wide yo-yo, and decided to go with a width of about 44.5 mm. The reason I decided on a width of about 44.5 mm was that the average yo-yo I used was about 44.5 mm, and I thought that value was the borderline between wide and not wide, so I set it as a standard.
As for the diameter, I wanted to emphasize rotational power and light weight, so I decided on a larger diameter (about the size of Pheasant).
After communicating these specifications, they began drawing the prototype.
4. After receiving the 1st prototype
After the aforementioned reckless request, we actually exchanged drawings several times, and the first prototype (1st prototype) arrived in the summer in 2022.
Although the 1st prototype had great power and stability, I felt that it had habitual behavior during horizontal movement and was slightly difficult to move, so I decided to improve it. It is not difficult to use, and people who like heavy weights may like it, but it was not for me. (I can't do it because I don't have two of them, but it may be good for 3A lol)
I was competing in OWYYC2022 using the 1st proto, if you want to check it out.
*The video is from JYYF, http://www.jyyf.org/
5. 1st proto to 2nd proto
The modifications to the 1st proto started and we received the 2nd proto a week or two after NYC (Niigata Yo-Yo Contest). In addition to slight changes in diameter and width, we changed the shape of the rim from rounded to flat with a larger surface. A rounded rim would have been fine if the emphasis was on power and stability, but a flat rim may have been better suited to fulfill our request to add mobility to the rim.
When revising the first prototype, I asked them to "keep the same rotational force and stability, but improve the ease of movement and the strange horizontal quirks. The drawing that came out of this was to reduce the overall weight, change the rim shape, and increase the weight. By increasing the rim weight and diameter while reducing the overall weight, we were able to improve the ease of movement with maintaining(or rather, slightly increase) the stability and power.
As a result, our first request, "I want a bimetal with an inverse shape, long spin time and is easy to move, but is not violent and stable," was completed.
6. Performance
The 2nd prototype I wrote about in the previous section was so good that I decided to make it into a product as it was.
Originally, my ideal was "long spin and easy to move, but not violent and stable," and I think this model satisfies all of those requirements. By adding weight to the rim and making the width slightly narrower in relation to the diameter, we were able to create a very strong stability and power. In addition to this, the inverse shape + extreme low edge + wide gap reduced the sleep loss as much as possible. As a result, the yoyo has top class rotation power despite its ultra-light weight.
In addition, the light weight makes it easy to move and the wide rim gives it controllability, making it a truly versatile yo-yo.
Especially in horizontal, the yoyo's spinning stability is amazing, and it will keep spinning even if you do some crazy moves.
7. About the name
There are many ways to decide on a signature model`s name, but as the saying goes, "a name represents the body," so I wanted a name that matched the characteristics of the yo-yo or was associated with me.
As I researched birth stars, birthstones, and things associated with my name, I suddenly realized that this yo-yo is a "versatile yo-yo" when I thought about its characteristics. I looked up words in various languages meaning "versatile" and people related to versatility, and learned that Leonardo da Vinci is called the "Genius of All Things. From there, I decided to name my signature model "Da Vinci".
8. The End
I have described the background and characteristics of the da Vinci production. I was given the opportunity to produce five colors this time, and I had a hard time choosing the colors. I could not decide on my own because all the colors were so wonderful, so I asked my team members to help me choose colors lol.
I hope that many people will use my first signature model "Da Vinci", which was completed after much deliberation.
When JN limited ver was released, it was sold out quickly. I couldn`t help but be pleased. Thanks you for everyone who bought it!
I would recommend it to anyone, so if you are interested in it, please pick one up!
YOYOFRIENDS Japan manager Tomoki Toyama
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Da Vinci sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
In 2022 we introduced SS Koi, the first ever spin off of our original Koi in the series. It was met with great success, we thank you all for all the support.
After the SS koi, we wanted to bring a different and unique feel of the original Koi in its full size organic spec which is loved by many, so we started working on the Ti Koi.
We thought just making a Ti Koi is not enough, here at yoyofriends and our parent manufacturer fpm we want to push all kinds of possibilities, so we had the idea of making an oversized Koi. We want to fully commit to making one of the largest titanium yoyos in the community, thus making it special in style and play. We will make both the Ti Koi and the oversized Ti Koi in the Koi series.
Firstly we want to tackle the normal Ti Koi first to have an understanding of its play and properties before taking on the oversized version. The oversized Ti yoyo will require a larger titanium material and the cost will be very high for the prototype.
For the first take on the Ti Koi, we maintained the same outer diameter of the original Koi at 56mm. The weight of the Ti prototype came out to be about 63.6g. To ensure stability and the weight distribution, especially on the rim. We set the width to 43.5mm.
Ti Koi has been tested by our yoyofriends players worldwide. We found out that while the yoyo plays well, it doesn have the original Koi's power and stability in the latter half of a long combo. We want to ensure Ti Koi has the essence of the original Koi and one of them is power. The players decided to up the weight drastically, especially on the rims, one of the biggest jumps in weight from prototype to prototype. The 2nd version came out at about 65g. It passed the players test in terms of performance and power that highlighted the original version of the Koi.
Ti Koi keeps all the characteristics of Koi with organic feel and insane amount of power. It also has enhanced features like sound and weight distribution and unique titanium feel due to its material. Ti Koi is the organic that have both fun and performance in a titanium form.
After the Ti Koi, we immediately took on the challenge of the oversized Ti Koi. We started with a staggering diameter of 63mm.
We were second guess on this decision as yoyofriends has no experience on making oversized yoyo. How to manufacture this oversized Ti ? What will be the yield and the quality of the product? How will it perform and will people like it?
After discussion we fully committed to this challenge. We decided on a width of 48mm, which is reasonable. We also found out due to its organic nature and high, curved wall on the oversized Ti Koi we have to add a slope at the response position for better play and performance.
The weight of this large yoyo we decided on 63g, as larger diameter yoyos intrusively have more power and momentum, we also kept it light for movement as larger yoyos tend to move slower.
After 3 months of prototypes, we are finally satisfied with the project.
We have worked on both the Ti Koi and Oversized Ti Koi for around 12 months, the results are finally here, we are excited to introduce 2 new yoyos in the Koi series.
Preorder time window: From 3/25 8PM EST to 3/30 8PM EST.
Quantity:50 pcs in total (preorder only available in yoyofriends store).
Shipping Date:From March 31th to April 3rd.
Official Release Date:Around mid-April (Will available in retail shops and yoyofriends).
TiNY Content:
1 x yoyofriends real leather pocket bag
1x TiNY sticker
1X TiNY package box
1X pairs yoyo pads
1x string
Yoyofriends have a history of making yoyos that utilize titanium, like the TiSS Hummingbird, Ti Sunbird, and recently our collaboration with Damian Puckett on the Alliance. One problem with titanium is the high cost, thus making it less accessible for a lot of people. For this project we want to use different ways to make a titanium yoyo that is fun and economical so a lot more people can have their own titanium yoyo.
To make the yoyo economical, we decided to do a mini undersized yoyo. First draft is based on the Alliance with a diameter of 44.5mm with Koi's inner cup. We also added a groove on the outer rim design for aesthetics.
We want this project truly for the masses, so we contacted Andre from yoyoexpert to collaborate with us on this design as they are one of the most popular yoyo retailers in the world.
We thought of what if we tie some elements of Hummingbird since it is our most successful model, this will make the yoyo more yoyofriends and interesting.
The end result is exciting, the yoyo looks fun and unique.
After 2 months of testing from the yoyofriends players and yoyoexpert, we found out the yoyo needs more power, We need to increase the overall weight of the yoyo. We also realize the yoyo is too wide for its size, causing stability issues.
We decided to optimize the design of the prototype by getting inspiration from the original design. We ended up with 2 prototypes, a 37mm design with straight rims and a 39mm design with more rounded rims. We also increased the weight to 61g. After testing, the 39mm width design is the standout. It is more comfortable to catch, slightly more powerful and it feels more unique with the rounded rim weight distribution.
We also asked Andre from yoyoexpert to give us more insight by testing out the yoyo. Here is the feedback from him. " I really like this yoyo, it has a good feel for a titanium and I like the undersized design. Overall it has very good control and speed for a titanium yoyo. It binds very tight, so perfect gap width. The only thing that could be improved is the fingerspin dimple.I can get it to stick and fingerspin, but it dies very quickly, I think it needs to be a little wider and have a more gradual surface, but I am not sure there is enough room there to fix it without messing up the weight of the yoyo and the need for axle depth."
We implemented the idea and flattened the inner cup with a gradual slope, although the fingerspin is still not ideal due to the surface property of titanium, but it did make it easier to land and spread out the weight distribution more on the outside of the yoyo for more power and stability.
After another testing run , we think it met our expectations on design, shape and width. It felt like a fun tiny competition yoyo, easy to control, bind and full of performance.
The entire prototype cycle lasted for nearly a year, We want to specially thank Brian from yotricks and Andre from yoyoexpert and the yoyofriends player team for valuable feedback and suggestions on this project.
Here at yoyofriends we want everyone to have access to a full titanium yoyo and spread the characteristics of titanium and other materials. We hope we achieved that goal with this project.
The artwork is TiNY being worked on in a lab in a petri dish. It signifies the time this project took and how many tests it has been through till the final production, and of course how tiny the yoyo is.
Here are the details of Pheasant Monometal:
Weight: 65.6 grams
Material: 7068 Aluminum
Diameter: 56.18 mm
Width: 45.86 mm
Gap width: 4.43 mm
Axle: M4*8 mm
Bearing: Center Track
Pads: 19.2*14.2*1.2mm
Price: 48USD and 50USD
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Pheasant Monometal sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
Bimetal has been the bread and butter for yoyofriends throughout the years. In 2023 we want to create a stand out monometal for yoyofriends, proving that we can recreate the same magic just like our bimetals.
To tackle this idea, we have to understand the essence of mono metal vs bimetal. Monometal is not about all out performance, that has been taken over my bimetal with its crazier weight distribution, so instead of trying to mimic our insane performance driven bimetal lineup like before, we took a different approach by highlighting flow and individuality of the yoyo.
Pheasant prototype one design came to mind, it has all the cuts, and stages to make the yoyo stand out in play, so we implemented that idea in a monometal form for the first prototype. We also didn't forget about performance, to maximize that, we up the weight of the yoyo dramatically compared to its bimetal counterpart. Just like what we learned in our previous monometal shortcut, more weight is great when it's balanced, still keeping that acceleration and speed while adding on stability and power. The result is incredible. The entire yoyofriends team loved how the yoyo felt and performed at the same time. However it is not perfect yet as we discovered the gap width is pretty loose, so for the prototype 2 we decreased the gap width from 4.45mm to 4.43mm.
Pheasant monometal also ran into the same problem as the original Pheasant, very high b grade rate. We solved it by implementing the same revised cup on the pheasant 2023 by raising the hub by 0.4mm. The result is even more incredible, adding more flow and characteristic to the yoyo while having a high yield rate. The yoyofriends team really like the feel of the pheasant monometal, some of the team members are switching to it for everyday carry and even competition. We managed to perfectly blend feel and performance, western and eastern design ideology into one yoyo. We finally have our standout monometal yoyo!
To double check our work, we made some pheasant monometal to give out to our loyal fans as a Christmas and New years gift. Not only thanking them for the support but also analyzing some of the feedback on the yoyo. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive from them and we are now 100% sure this will be the final and production version of the monometal pheasant.
One of our players who really loved the Pheasant is Sofi Tůmová. It is her favorite yoyo period. Sofi helped promote yoyofriends in Czech Republic and the rest of Europe a lot and spreads positivity not just within the yoyofriends team, but also in the yoyo community. We present her signature color edition in this Pheasant monometal.
]]>Here are the details of Pheasant 2023:
Weight: 63.4 grams
Material: 7068+SS rings
Diameter: 56.22 mm
Width: 45.88 mm
Gap width: 4.5 mm
Axle: M4*10 mm
Bearing: Center Track
Pads: 19.2*14.2*1.2mm
Price: 155USD
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x Pheasant 2023 sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
Last year, we wanted to venture into the global market more, especially in Japan. Japan has a very rich yoyo culture and history, and we want to explore that and create a yoyo that has the essence of Japanese yoyo from the ground up. Last year we also sponsored our first Japanese player, Tomoki Toyama. Tomoki has been helping and promoting us in Japan heavily and helped us tremendously with this project.
We started by making a survey, trying to understand what Japanese players like in their yoyo. The result is they want a yoyo that has tons of power, control, a wide catch zone and slightly wider gap width for confidence in competition. A yoyo with the greatest ease of use. We implemented the ideas into a yoyo, using our classic 7068 + SS yoyofriends construction and thus the Pheasant was born. Prototype one has multiple cuts and a multi staged structure, however while it gives more flow in tricks and individuality, it doesn't have the cutting edge characteristics that highlights the needs for a yoyo that can land any tricks with the greatest of ease.
After discussions with multiple players in Japan, we eliminated all the necessary elements in the design. Pheasant now has a more minimal design with one of the craziest weight distributions ever in the yoyofriends mainstream lineup. The yoyo now satisfies almost every characteristic highlighted in the survey and can land tricks, especially in contests with the greatest of ease. Our Player Tomoki tested out the Pheasant in multiple contests in Japan and yielded great results and feedback.
This was our player Tomoki's feedback: "Although it is a lightweight bimetal almost like some of our existing lineup, Pheasant gives me the most confidence in high stress contest situations due to its rotational force, ease of movement and stability. I can't believe it's only around 63g! The power drop off is minimal even after my horizontal combo, the yoyo still comes back with force. The acceleration is fast due to its lightness yet controllable, it does not force you to move faster than you want to and will catch the string easily due to its width."
We named the yoyo Pheasant because it is the national bird of Japan, a perfect fit for us as we have multiple other bird names in our lineup already and highlight the Japan connection within this yoyo.
One problem with the Pheasant is that the design was too extreme, it made the A grade rate very very low. Forcing us to only release a small run number at a higher price. We decided to put the worldwide release and this project on hold and try to figure out a way for a higher yield rate while keeping the same extreme performance and characteristic.
Here comes the Pheasant 2023. We added more material in the center cup to make the yoyo more rigid and manufacturable. This even added more acceleration due to the nature of more center weight. To counteract the stability and controllability loss, we also added more weight throughout the yoyo making the yoyo 63.4g, doubling down on power and stability to achieve the same performance and controllability as the original pheasant.
It is yoyofriends' 7th year anniversary! Last year we celebrated our 6th year anniversary with the release of the popular baryon, a quality yoyofriends bimetal at a never before seen price. We are doing the same this year with our newest release, the nucleon.
The design of the nucleon is based on pure power and stability, instead of our mainstream yoyofriends bimetal that are based on speed and acceleration.
Nucleon is coming in at over 65g with the classic 7068+SS yoyofriends construction, we made a yoyo that can power through just about any combo you throw at and more. We also kept the width below 44mm to keep the yoyo on any plane of your choosing easily. Combining the weight, width and construction, nucleon is undoubtedly our most powerful and stable mainstream bimetal yet. After testing from the yoyofriends players, we found that due to its insane stability, it can hold horizontal combo really well, one of the best yoyo in our lineup.
We named the yoyo nucleon following our particle naming scheme that includes the baryon, tachyon and graviton. Nucleon in chemistry consists of proton and neutron, the 2 heaviest part of an atom. Thus perfectly reflecting the power and the weight of this yoyo in our lineup.
There are 2 versions of logos, first version was designed by Doc, it is a bit complex but with abundant content.We released Nucleon with this logo in Black Friday promotion.The second version logo is designed by yoyofriends' player Tony Sung and revised by yoyofriends, reimagining the nucleon symbol in the shape of a yoyo,Which will be on official release.This is also the first time we try a Yoyo with 2 versions of logo, we think everyone has different preferences.Here we are especially grateful to Doc and Tony who designed the logo for us.
We kept the design fairly simple and made the price of the yoyo 77.7 USD and 80.7USD Perfect price for our 7th year anniversary and never before seen pricing for a 7068+SS full size yoyofriends bimetal. We hope you enjoy this anniversary release and cheers for many, many more years to come.
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One of our goals for yoyofriends in 2022 is to continue to explore and master all kinds of materials that can be utilized in making a yoyo. Like the Magnesium Cloudstrike, Brass and Copper Hummingbird to Titanium rim Graviton this year. This time we will tackle our most expensive and hardest material yet, the Damascus Steel.
The first time we came in contact with Damascus Steel was in 2016, when yoyofriends just started, when the first iteration of hummingbird was still just in the prototype phase. A friend of ours came and brought a knife made out of Damascus Steel. We were deeply attracted to the pattern and the texture of the material, we thought it would be great if this material could be made into a yoyo. However during that time, yoyofriends just started, we had no establishment to even consider this project.
Fast Forward to the beginning of 2022, due to the hard work of the yoyofriends team, we are at a point where we can start this exciting project.
The beginning of the design consists of the entire yoyo made of Damascus Steel, because it will showcase the pattern more and lower the overall cost, however after scouting all the shops and factories, there is no way to find Damascus Steel with a diameter of more than 50mm. We don't want to just make the yoyo super undersized, we want this yoyo to perform and showcase well. This problem has made us decide to go to the bimetal routh, circumventing the problem completely by adding material outside of the smaller damascus steel body to make the yoyo full size.
Now another question arises, which material do we pair with the Damascus Steel body? We first went to the tried and true Stainless Steel, but we realize both materials have extremely high density and hardness. Pairing them both would not work well. We then decided to use titanium rims, since titanium has almost half the density as Damascus Steel. We can make the yoyo full size while still having a good weight on the yoyo.
Damascus Steel is a very dense material, if we want to make the yoyo weigh normally, we have to make the wall very thin, however this material is meant mainly for knives, so its hardness is incredibly high. Even with the immense manufacturing difficulty, we decided to make the wall lower than 0.6mm, similar to our TISS hummingbird. This is a new manufacturing experience for FPM, our manufacturing team.
While designing the yoyo, we realized how hard this project will be, we are tackling a never before used material while making it one of the thinnest walls for a yoyo at the same time, stacked on top of the high hardness and cost of the material. Damascus Steel is around 3 to 4 times more expensive than titanium and around 2 times harder. We decided to just do it, we really want this project to become a reality!
After multiple discussions and trials the design is done.
Next, we started to purchase the material to make the prototypes. The material is extremely expensive, 3 sets costs almost 600 USD. We are worried about the loss if it does not turn out well and the prototypes fail.
The material we received looks absolutely incredible, we were all fascinated by the texture on the surface. It's so beautiful it made us ignore the high cost of the material.
Like we mentioned above, the Damascus Steel has a very high hardness. We could not even find a suitable tool in our inventory that can even manufacture it. To solve this we decided to contact a specialized tool factory to customize a set of tools for us. Thus making the total cost astronomically high.
Who knows the tool that came will not work at all! We communicated with the tool factory on how to solve this problem, but they only have experience on manufacturing knives, not yoyos. We knew that all knives are polished after manufacturing to form a beautiful surface. Yoyo is not the same as knife. Yoyo will be unless if make like knife way.
At the end,We resorted to our own FPM manufacturing team. We purchased all kinds of tools (around 15!) that might make this work. We finally made it work and can start to manufacture the prototypes.
The prototype came out different than what we imagined, there were no cool looking patterns, the surface became smooth, like titanium alloy. While disappointed we soldiered on and made the 3 prototypes.
We didn't want to give up on the special pattern we were looking for, so we found a laser engraving engineer to make a pattern diagram, then engrave it onto the yoyo. The result looks great but it's rough to the touch by hand and unrefined, so we decided to look for another option.
Later, we visited a knife factory that specializes in Damascus under the introduction of our friend. We realize we might need a special formulated chemical solution to treat the surface of the yoyo. The chemical solution can also be obtained at many places. Knowing this we happily contacted the chemical solution factory, although we didn't find the exact solution we were looking for, but we found an alternative that could make it work.
Look!The texture and the pattern came out great, Exciting!we finally tackled this project on a manufacturing level. All the hard work and dedication has paid off.
Finally the Damascus yoyo is assembled and tested. We picked Philip and Tony, properly stress test the yoyo and gave us overall feedback about Damascus yoyo
Also Doctor Popular, who has years of yo yoing experience and a professional yoyoer. Here We want to specially thank Doctor Popular for giving us some valuable testing experience. After the yoyo passes various stress testing by all kinds of players, it is now ready for prime time.
Damascus plays light and flowy. It has a special feeling as the material of the Damascus is more dense than the outer titanium ring while being powerful. It also didn't lose that bimetal property of power and stability due to the large titanium rim design. A yoyo that is an art but completely functional and can handle all the tricks by professional players.
Making Damascus yoyo has been a rollercoaster of a journey for us much like the magnesium cloudstrike, but the end result is worth it. We will do whatever it takes to push the manufacturing boundaries of yoyos and will continue to innovate in the future.
I believe you guys will this Damascus, its patten, also this yoyo!
Damascus Specs:
Width:42.96mm
Diamter:54.95mm
Gap: 4.45mm
Weight: 63.2g
Damascus pre order is here!
Preorder time window: From 11/10 8PM EST to 11/25 8PM EST.
Damascus Content:
1. yoyofriends real leather bag(2 hole pack)
2. Moon rock white Aluminium alloy Damascus as the showcase
3. Install with Spingear NSK bearing
4. Damascus Certification X 1
5. The letter”Damascus”logo will on the rim
6. Pre-sale price: $649.99
Frist deposit: $195, final payment $454.99
7. Official price:$799.99USD
We will start the production on Nov 26th.
Estimated finished date is around 11/26 2022 to 02/15/2023
Preorder link will be shown in the bio of the instagram at that time.
Thanks for your support!
It was summer break in 2021. While I was getting ready for my grade 12, Philip sent a design of titanium rim bimetal yoyo to our group chat.
I felt very excited about this design, that our team is finally making a titanium rimmed yoyo. Our manager Philip had eyes on my effort as a yoyofriends player, and he let me use this design to make my signature model. It was the most exciting thing ever happened to me as a player and a designer.
First, I had to choose specs for this yoyo. My standard of an impressive player is people who can coordinate different elements without any delays/hesitation, and are not limited to using other body parts. Therefore I’ve been looking for a yoyo that can assist me to hit many tricks more casually. This couldn’t be done by just using a wide yoyo, because the yoyo could land on the wrong strings or can hit my hands. Moreover, my hands are almost “objectively” small, compared to my peers, which makes hitting the chopstick tricks a little harder for me.
I chose the range of weight in between 64.29 to 65.15 grams. I was going to make it around 66grams at first, but that would make it harder to execute zoning combos and laceration consistently. I couldn't just make it lighter because I was worried about the yoyo spinning less longer, but then I could confidently make it lighter after watching people doing complicated tricks consistently with light a yoyo, such as Junsang Park, Shion Araya, Jonathan Sitangang, and Ahmad Kharisma.
I had to spend tons of time on trapeze width(or effective width). Trapeze width is the width of the yoyo, where you can actually land the yoyo.
You can execute tricks more effectively as the difference between the overall width and trapeze width gets closer to zero, but it also makes yoyo too sharp, which would even weaponize them. So I spent almost 2 weeks choosing the trapeze width that would work for me the best.
The final spec I decided on is 46.99mm in width by 55.35mm in diameter. These specs were chosen after trying various tricks with a bunch of different yoyos.
Then I moved on to the designing part. The outer rim is exposed to bigger risks of rim shift, which is also caused by dropping or dinging. I found some people using outer rim yoyo for 3a and 5a(which have higher risks of dropping or dinging) these days, such as Alex Hatori, Takeshi Matsuura, Sora Ishikawa, or Miggy Hizon. However, still, there are a majority of players who prefer to use the inner rim to prevent these issues, but I wanted to go with the outer rim which gives more power. So I maximized the surface area of the joint, to hold the rim tighter.
Then I finally began to draw the profile. I wanted my yoyo to look friendly, yet distinguishing in some parts.
I design tons of models carefully for each project. Especially this one would be my first signature yoyo, so I put more of my effort just as I’m actually prototyping all of them, then I chose my favorite among the best designs. I was considering putting a fingerspin zone as well, but I decided to make them more oriented to powerful spin.
The first prototype was very powerful. Fits really well for long and consistent horizontal combos. Plays awesome for complex 1a combos and insane 5a bangers. The wall thickness is relatively thicker than other 7000 series yoyos, and has a 10mm long axle. This prevents serious damage or distortion of yoyo which can be caused during 3a or 5a play. Nevertheless, It lacked floatiness, and the components of the design were looking awkward.
The second proto has less cuts, in fact I made most of the cuts more organic. Instead of reducing awkward design components from the first prototype, I added more dynamic designs to make a better balance. Also rims are about 2 grams lighter on each side, and overall weight has slightly increased to prevent loss of spinning time. The groove around the hub improved the fingerspin as well.
I let people use both of my prototypes at the Yoyo Toronto meet up. Most of them liked the floaty second prototype better, but some liked the first one more, which is more powerful. I want as many throwers as possible to love my signature yoyo, as well as keeping the identity of this yoyo. So I began to calculate the “Moment of Inertia”, or MOI for short.
MOI shows the value of the intensity of conservation of a spinning moment. They are decided by the weight and size of the object. In simple words: a higher MOI gives more powerful yoyo, and a lower MOI gives more floaty yoyo. But we don’t only care about the numbers that MOI shows, but we better care a lot for the balance between the size, mass, and the MOI.
I found the MOI value of the first and second prototype for reference. I felt interested that the 1st proto has less MOI on the rim (even though the rim was heavier than the rim of 2nd proto), but more MOI on the body which gave higher overall MOI. and I found out that the rim has less MOI than the 2nd proto because the shape of the rim was cut toward more inside. So I put the shape and MOI of the body of the 3rd prototype in between, except the MOI of the rim is higher than ever and the weight is lighter.
And it was a “Huge Success”. The yoyo got its power while minimizing the sacrifice of floatiness. All the specs and the shape show an amazing harmony, just as they were chosen for each other. The product is worth more than 14 months, my time for the Graviton.
I drew the logo by myself as well.
I felt I had to choose the name by the time I got the prototype, and I spent a fair amount of time coming up with the name “Graviton”. I had some other candidates: “Private Jet”, “Buse À Miel”, “Bald Eagle”, and “Mind Hack”. Then I found the word “Graviton”, a theoretical particle that mediates gravity. This drew my attention, and I loved it that graviton only exists as a theory, which sounds surreal to me. Also, graviton can be a metaphor for “a yoyo that mediates sensation”. It also corresponds to “Tachyon”, which is also a theoretical particle.
The circle in the back is just for coolness, and it didn’t have any meaning. Then I called it a massive black hole, and finally, I called the circle, the graviton, the name of my yoyo. The letter on the circle says Grit, from “GR” av ”IT”, which means strong courage or determination to overcome difficulty.
There are lots of amazing yoyos, and I’m confident to introduce Graviton as one of the best yoyos ever made. Weights are sufficiently distributed to every part, size and shapes are good for 1a, 3a, and 5a. Try simple combos, try ridiculous bangers. This yoyo is the embodiment of an all-rounder. Hope you enjoy your time with Graviton!
The first run is available on yoyofriends official store. Comes with titanium axles and excellent concave bearing. Hope you enjoy your time with this yoyo!
Here are the details of Graviton:
Weight: 64.7grams
Material: 7068+Ti rings
Diameter: 55.35mm
Width: 47mm
Gap width: 4.43mm
Axle: M4*10mm
Bearing: Concave
Pads: 19.2*14.2*1.2mm
Price: 179.99/set
The box contains:
1 x yoyo
1 pairs x pads
1 x string
1 x graviton sticker
1 x yoyofriends sticker
1 x grey iron canister
1x titanium axles(M4*10mm)
Almost every year, us yoyofriends will release a mainstream flagship yoyo, the likes of Hummingbird, Peregrine, and the Vulture. For us, a flagship needs to have unprecedented performance, specialty that makes the yoyo unique, and pushing the possibility of manufacturing. We would like to introduce our newest flagship yoyo of 2022, the Tachyon.
The idea of a flagship is very daunting, we have to make a yoyo that not only stands up to our previous three, but also has stand out characteristics. The Tachyon was created with one thing in mind, speed. This is a huge obstacle as the hummingbird in our lineup is already one of the fastest yoyo out there. What can we do to go even faster while the yoyo is still controllable?
To tackle this project we took a deep dive on understanding the speed of the yoyo. We found out there are two main parts to the overall speed of a yoyo, acceleration and sustained top speed. We want to tackle both parts with this design. A yoyo that can change direction really fast while still having the control in high stress, high speed situations like fast rail combos.
To tackle this project we took a deep dive on understanding the speed of the yoyo. We found out there are two main parts to the overall speed of a yoyo, acceleration and sustained top speed. We want to tackle both parts with this design. A yoyo that can change direction really fast while still having the control in high stress, high speed situations like fast rail combos.
We decided to still use the classic 7068 + SS setup, our bread and butter to bring out the most performance in our mainstream yoyos. We also decided on the classic wrapped around outer ring to ensure maximum stability and power. Weight is one of the main factors on acceleration, we lowered the weight as low as possible while still keeping enough control and power. The extreme weight distribution of the outer ring design perfectly counteracts the loss of power due to weight decrease.
We always learn more and more about yoyo design from our past lineup. Last year's flagship was the Vulture. What surprised us on the vulture is how much the stability increased by implementing a H shape profile. In order to push the weight even lower on the Tachyon while keeping it stable, we decided to implement some of the H shape design from the Vulture. Here is a conundrum, implementing the H shape element in a yoyo will make the yoyo slower compared to a classic V shape. We would need to implement a H shape where the decrease in speed is well less than the increase in speed from weight cutting. The solution was to implement the H shape near the outside. Doing this still makes the yoyo V shape dominate while still having the enhanced stability and power improvement from elements of the H shape.
We all know that yoyofriends is part FPM, one of the best yoyo manufacturer. Each yoyo from yoyofriends is a showcase FPM is capable of. When we made the TISS hummingbird. We also have an ultra light prototype that came along in the package, the goal of that yoyo is to prototype and remake the TISS hummingbird with just aluminum, thus making the wall of that yoyo only 0.8mm thin, the thinnest aluminum wall in our lineup yet. We utilized that experience and implemented the thickness of 0.8mm wall on the tachyon as we want as much center and rim weight as possible to ensure the fastest speed. We know this is a very difficult task to do as it doubles the manufacturing difficulty. The yoyo can be deformed due to tool wear, the main body can also be burnt and deformed due to the high temperatures in the anodizing tank during oxidation. However after numerous testing and tweaking, we have succeeded in making the tachyon meet and exceed our expectations.
The result is incredible. Tachyon is without a doubt our fastest performance yoyo we've ever made. Dethroning our hummingbird in speed in just about every way. When playing with the Tachyon you will feel never before seen acceleration and sustained top speed while having the power and control to do all your tricks. You will feel the savagery of power and the burst of speed upon every throw.
We picked the name Tachyon because it perfectly fits the ideology of the yoyo, tachyon is a hypothetical particle that travels faster than light. A perfect caricature of what this yoyo stands for. It is also a homage to one of our new particle naming schemes that started with the Baryon.
We hope to bring you the ultimate feel of speed with the Tachyon, our new flagship of yoyofriends!
One of our main goals for yoyofriends in 2022 is to continue to explore, master the design and usage of different types of materials. Establishing a foundation for us for our future releases with more options on materials. After working with titanium, and magnesium, we decided to experiment with a full stainless steel design.
The density of stainless steel is much higher than that of aluminum alloy. If we directly use the diameter of 56mm of AL KOI, it will affect the overall weight distribution, to combat this we first reduced the diameter to 52mm, width to 42mm.
Regarding the hub of the SS Koi, we continue to use the original hub design of AL Koi, to keep that flowy and somewhat speedy characteristic of the original design.
After the first version of prototypes came out, we found that the speed was too slow, and the bind was not great. After repeated discussions, our team decided to change the C bearing to a D bearing, gap width was reduced from 4.7mm to 4.47mm, and the pad seat was changed from 19mm*14mm to 19mm*13mm.
The second version of the prototype came out. Compared with the C bearing prototype, the speed of the D bearing prototype was much better, and the bind is now fixed.
For Tiss Hummingbird, we used an ultra-thin 0.5mm wall thickness, fully using the advantage of our manufacturer FPM to achieve incredible weight distribution. This time is no different. The SS Koi also has a wall thickness of only 0.5mm to enhance the rim weight and power of the yoyo. Stainless steel is a very hard material so a wall of only 0.5mm thickness is very hard to manufacture. The machining process is very difficult due to the ease of causing vibrations and deformations. Fortunately, the final product has none of these issues.
This yoyo became our first ever D bearing yoyo. The D bearing is smaller than the standard C bearing, increasing the power and spin speed of the yoyo, which solidify the performance of the SS koi and our performance driven culture. SS Koi feels powerful, stable, yet flowy, organic and undersized, perfectly blending performance, fun and speciality.
Finally, We hope you love the SS Koi and what it stands for!
The SS KOI will drop Sat, August 20 th 2022 8 PM EST
As you know,Yoyofriends is part players, part manufacturer (FPM). We have in house CNC machines, anodization specialists and yoyo designers!We have the advantage of continuously experimenting with material, anodization and all different kinds of techniques.
In April, 2021, after the release of Vulture, we want to produce and master a magnesium yoyo by 2022. This will be a new adventure for us in manufacturing, anodizing and designing, and this is what YOYOfriends is good at.We fully committed to this project and started to venture into unknown territory. But it is always a brand new project, and we did encounter a lot difficulties...
First is the design, since we have no prior experience with the material we have to understand the properties of the magnesium. The challenge is to make a yoyo that is under 66 grams while not making it play slow and like a tank. Mg has a density in between polycarbonate and aluminum, so not very dense at all. Thus enables us to make the yoyo that looks like a tank but plays decently fast and floaty. Magnesium also has high tensile strength, shock resistance and abrasion resistance. We can keep the wall thin and fine tune the weight distribution to increase the speed of the yoyo.
After the design, it's time to gather the materials and test. We got our first batch of magnesium material stock. After prototyping, we found out the magnesium surface started to oxidize! We were very very worried, because we want to process and anodize the surface of the yoyo, having the surface oxidized might prevent us from perfect making the surface finish and upm to our high yoyofriends standard.
We then contacted multiple surface treatment specialists about this oxidation problem. We learned Magnesium is very easy to oxidize and what we encountered is normal. We can use chemical treatment during the anodization and surface treatment process. We proceeded and the oxidation was gone! The surface and anodization was perfect and we have succeeded! So excited for the good news!
Magnesium has very unique properties, it is very flammable (only when it reaches a very very high temperature and after igniting, perfectly safe for normal yoyo use). We did some experiments on igniting and burning the magnesium and it was really magical! Haha!
From designing, material gathering, manufacturing and anodizing, it took us a total of 10 months. During the process we changed the design and surfaces multiple times. We learned alot about magnesium and how we can make a yoyo out of it.
You might think the story ends here. However the NIGHTMARE process of final production has just begun.
After sending the prototypes to the players for heavy testing, we decided to start the final production in March 2022. We plan to make between 50 to 100 cloudstrikes. We ordered magnesium stock for the production run. Magnesium is expensive, basically the same price as titanium, so we have to be very careful on each step to avoid huge losses.
We still met with failures sadly. Due to the material factory's mistake, the yoyos we produced had two kinds of surface. One of the yoyo from the material we use is not up to our standard at all.
At the beginning we thought manufacturing specialists used a different kind of process, however after a week of more testing on the material, it is the material factory giving us material that can not be used directly. They forgot a step when processing the magnesium stock. This kind of material is unable to produce yoyo. Due to the mistake of the material factory, we ditched our entire stock, suffering heavy losses.
We are fully committed to this project, because yoyofriends’s philosophy is innovation We must innovate and master different kinds of materials for the future. No matter the loss, we will get this done. Never give up!
After a week of communication and changes. We received a different kind of material. This time the raw material cost is around 30% more than the previous. After the first loss, we also needed a backup plan, so we also got a third kind of material, this one's pricing is ridiculous, almost two times more than the original cost. After testing all three kinds of materials. Only one of them passed, which is pretty frustrating.
Right at the beginning of our second full production test, Covid-19 returned. On March 14th, our city was locked down for a week. A week of us wondering if the new material can finally make the yoyos that are up to our standard.
After the one week lockdown, we immediately started testing the production run. We FINALLY made yoyos that are up to our standards. Everything went well, like our initial prototype.
We have one last job to do, anodization. This process is a lot harder than our normal anodization, because we have to fight oxidation of the magnesium. The temperature must be very precise. We drove 160 miles to the factory that specialized in anodization. They told us the process will be very hard and time consuming, due to the oxidation temperature of the magnesium will rise during the electrical process, and when it's too high the anodization and the entire yoyo will fail. After 12 hours of procession at the factory we finally made six cloudstrikes.
After almost a week of anodization and oxidation process, the final production run is here. The surface, and the entire yoyo is perfect. After a long journey that lasted a whole year.
After a whole year, the cloustrike is here! Finally up to our high yoyofriends standard. It was well worth it for us in the end. Hope you guys enjoy it!
The Cloudstrike will drop Monday, May 30th, 2022 8 PM EST
Material: Magnesium
Diameter: 57.00mm
Width: 48.00mm
Gap width: 4.52mm
Weight: 65.6g
319.99USD/ set
(PS: We tried two types of logo, and you can see the left one looks better, so we chose the solid logo for Alliance)
At the end of 2021, when we were thinking detailed business planning next year, we were thinking deeply which old model yoyos should be back in 2022 and we should bring which new model yoyos. Our team highly recommend tiss hummingbird back. Jacky is afraid of starting tiss hummingbird again because it was a difficult and challenging project. However, after the high customer demand of the yoyo, we are happy to announce the return of the tiss hummingbird.
We wanted the best of the best so we chose grade 5 titanium for higher tensile strength and ultra thin walls, enhancing the property of the original hummingbird with rainbow SS rings, one of the hardest colorways to make on stainless steel. A never before seen rainbow body that gives the yoyo its unique colorway. TISS hummingbird has the play of hummingbird but with enhanced titanium feel and more power, a yoyo meant to be played on that can handle all your hardest and longest combos. TISS hummingbird is truely a testament to our design and manufacturing capabilities, what is the best we can offer for now.
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Do you miss tiss hummingbird?
A lot of people wondering whether we will make second run after it was displayed at WYYC 2018.Actually, we keep this request in heart and it takes us about 3 years to revise drawing and test prototypes time after time. We are excited to announce that our Tisunbird will be coming out soon!
What we must take into consideration is how to mostly guarantee the concentricity and deformation of products. We need try many times the machining technology and methods,and I guess this processing method cost may be the highest.
The work of this project is still continuing...
Titanium is not easy to process so there are many unexpected conditions and we need try to deal with this defective surface. If polished by hand, it may cause 0.5mm deformation or burn due to exceedingly high temperature. We have tried many ways and many times, those issues are solved eventually. So gorgeous surface!
Polishing or Blasting? It took long time for us to thinking it. .we always want to bring better experience to our clients so we tried . It now appears that our decision is correct.What’s more, we took the method of masking bearing area to do beadblasting, so that they can make sure the safety of string.
Testing,testing again testing, which I really fallen in love this feeling. After 4 years, I found the feeling of humingbird again, that’s so fantastic! thank you. Tisunbird, everything is perfect.
Thanks guys!
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